VJ – Page 55 – One Woman's Quest

On Gender

Does the moon envy
sun’s glorified reign –
(gender inferred)

Sons were sun
in my family,
we women lunar

Father straddled
the two – a secret
we fought to suppress

Fluidity of pronouns
non-existant
in formative years.

(Image my own)

Please Visit Me at Tangled Locks Journal

I feel deeply honoured to be part of September’s issue of Tangled Locks Journal. Thank you to Teresa Berkowitz for accepting my poem, “Feline”. Please visit me there, and take a moment to peruse all the writing: you won’t be disappointed.

Tangled Locks Journal is published quarterly. Information for how to get involved is available on the site.

Sorcery

I didn’t steal the moon!
The tone is lackadaisical
but the sky incision bears
an uncanny resemblance
to her handiwork – even
stitches, gossamer threads-
the sorceress has gone too far.

(A whimsical poem borrowed
from Twitter @Vjknutson.
Art my own)

Haiku for Sunday

Choose to rise above
believe in the certainty
of limitless skies

(Image my own)

Heron Reflection

Silent as the Great Blue
Autumn hues creep
shifting the landscape
altering my mood.

Do feathers quiver
at the ensuing chill
or is it merely human
this seasonal affect?

(Heron Reflection first appeared here August, 2019.
Image my own.)

Colouring You Purple

I am colouring you purple
for the sacredness of your being
for the majesty of your soul

I am colouring you purple
for the joy that you spread
for the laughter we share

I am colouring you purple
for purple best expresses
the depth of my love.

(For my granddaughters. Art my own.
Colouring you Purple previously appeared
on onewomansquest. com)

The Other Side

Wind carries Autumn’s song
and I am crawling out of a nightmare

Insides churning widdershins
thoughts grasping for a forward pull

Have been to the edge,
touched the volatile

Birdsong breaks solemnity
I catch a ray of light.

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson
Last September, I was in hospital fighting
through a life threatening condition.
I penned this there. Image my own.)

First Kiss

Dock sitting
past midnight
parental drone
humming in distance

Two silhouettes
haloed in moonlight
I lean in, heart pounding
your lips brush my forehead

Nothing more…
Nevermind! I blurt
scrambling to leave
rejection a soul tattoo

(Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson.
Image my own. Care to join me and write about your first kiss?
Drop me a link so I don’t miss it.)

Nature’s Message

Nature has a way of reminding –
even the most diehard nonbelievers –
that a force, inexplicable and sacred, exists

Like an unseasonal storm unleashing hail
waking us from a deep slumber –
she is a messenger, knocking

The soul answers, child reawakened,
joyous recognition that despite all
theories, doctrines, and delusions

There exists a life within a life:
a great mystery that defies
and keeps us ever humble.

(Revisiting old posts, I found these words.
To see the original, posted in September 2014, click here.
Image my own.)

Who Am I, If Not Responsible?

This pedestal of responsibility
has elevated me, out of reach,
out of touch – lumps together
children, mate, mother, sister…

Caregiver extraordinaire
present overcrowded by
obligations…am unwell,
off topic, fed up, surely…

I am other abled, have room
for more – not martyr related –
hesitant to plan, my purpose
for being so intricately tuned

to the needs of others, should
quit while I’m ahead – silence
the inner nag – free us all
from this unhealthy game.

(This poem first appeared on One Woman’s Quest II
in September, 2016. Edited here. Image my own.)